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Backyard Safety and Home Insurance

By February 26, 2014June 9th, 2020Home Insurance, Homeowners Insurance

Backyard Safety and Home Insurance

When the sun comes out and the weather turns nice, so many Missouri homeowners are in a rush to get out and play, especially if they’ve been cooped up indoors with the kids all winter! If you are looking forward to putting in a pool or playhouse for your family this summer, take a few minutes to find out exactly how your insurance company is going to feel about the situation. Your personal insurance policy that covers your home may or may not extend to coverage for a swimming pool or playhouse, but if it doesn’t, you really need to think about the right home insurance policy for your family’s needs. How do you know if your current policy covers those backyard’ extras? Give your insurance agent a call. They can tell you if your pool is covered, your playhouse is a liability or whether you are good to go. Many home insurance policies do include coverage for these types of increasingly common backyard entertainment accessories, although some insurers will want to send someone out to check that you are taking the best safety precaution to limit your risks, especially if your friends and neighbors will be using the items. Some may recommend a separate umbrella policy, which could be a little more expensive each month, but very much worth the expense should someone be injured on or even away from your property in some cases. Regardless of the type of insurance coverage you end up with, it just makes sense to make safety a priority in order to limit the risk that someone will be injured on your property.

Backyard Safety Tips for Pools and Playsets

  • Swimming pools should be behind a safety fence with a gate that can be locked to prevent children from gaining access to the pool.
    • Install a loud alarm that will notify you if someone falls into the pool.
    • Maintain the decking and frame of above ground pools, and check regularly for structural instabilities of the pool itself.
    • Keep pool chemicals out of reach, but safety equipment on hand.
  • Wooden playsets that come in a pre-fabricated kit need to be assembled professionally and anchored in the ground per the manufacturer’s instruction. Those kits that build a two-story playhouse need to be especially well maintained and access to the upper level restricted for unsupervised children.
    • The location of the playset should be level, sturdy and not too close to the actual structure of your home.
    • Ground covering for playsets needs to be appropriate. Think grass and mulch, not concrete or bare, hard ground.

Of course, you’re probably still going to worry. Most responsible parents do, but, as responsible homeowners, you can rest a little easier knowing you have the right coverage in place so you can really enjoy those backyard toys in your Lake of the Ozarks home.